(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-750A-1a, OH

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card from Ohio, cataloged as Fuld 750A-1a. Ohio produced more varieties of Civil War store cards than any other state, driven by Cincinnati's role as the largest inland city and a Union Army supply hub. This copper striking (Fuld 750A-1a) is common among the known varieties. Although undated, this token was produced during the 1862-1864 period when federal coins disappeared from commerce. Token production was a specialized trade — die sinkers maintained catalogs of stock dies that merchants could pair with custom obverses. Congress banned private token issuance in April 1864, but before that, tokens like this one circulated freely as cent substitutes in Northern commerce. Many Civil War tokens survive in high grades because merchants and the public saved them as novelties, resulting in a better average preservation than contemporary federal coins.

Rarity Notes

Copper strikings are generally the most common metal variant for Civil War store cards, as copper was the standard planchet material mimicking the federal cent. With 1 cataloged varieties, this merchant was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 750A-1a